Israel has embarked on a “secret war” to track down Syria’s chemical and biological weapons, the Sunday Times has reported.

As part of the operation, said the Times, Israel has deployed spotters across the border to monitor the movement of Syria’s non-conventional arms cache.

“For years we’ve known the exact location of Syria’s chemical and biological munitions,” The Times quoted an Israeli source as saying. “But in the past week we’ve got signs that munitions have been moved to new locations.”

Biological and chemical weapons were first reported in Syria in the 1980s, but the cache has taken center stage of late, as fears grow that Bashar Assad’s regime may use such means against rebels.